Rise of XANA
by Lyoko Native
Summary: Aelita had a nightmare. She convinced herself it wasn't real. Then, X.A.N.A invades her life, so she goes back to Kadic to find the problem. There, she meets Jeremy again, and finds he is having the same problem.
1. Chapter 1

Rise of X.A.N.A

Chapter One, Aelita Schaffer

At Home:

There was nothing particularly special at the start of the nightmare. I recognized the ominous silence of it as the area inside of the tower just as Jeremy had rebooted it. There was something odd about it though, something that wasn't there but had been in real life. I kept telling myself that Jeremy was coming and not to be afraid. While this calmed me slightly, I panicked as the time rolled over from when I first saw Jeremy. Minutes passed, and then hours on the digital clock that replaced the feeling of calmness and security. I finally jumped up and pounded on the walls of the tower, yelling 'Jeremy' with panic obvious in my voice. I finally felt the collapse of the floor beneath my feet, screaming as the tower and I fell into the digital sea…

I jolted into an upright position, hand clutching my pounding heart. I saw the small apartment I lived in to saw money on getting to work, which was just a short walk away from the apartment building. I looked down and breathed heavily, scared out of my mind. I pushed my long pink side bangs out of my face so I could look around. "Oh," I sighed, smiling with relief and silliness, because I had almost convinced myself the nightmare was real. "I'm still alive." I announced to the room, hoping I could get a response out of it. It remained silent.

Looking at the stereo system that was given to me by my old friends, I noticed something very strange about it. It seemed to have a sinister florescent tint to it. On the screen, X.A.N.A's symbol shone brightly and like a warning beacon. I screeched, hiding under my covers. Then I laughed at myself, getting up and convincing myself the nightmare had left me paranoid. It had been eight years after college, and after I graduated from Kadic, I had lost all sense of time away from Jeremy, Ulrich, Odd and Yumi. X.A.N.A had been dead for a long time. He could no longer exist. After convincing myself, I managed to fall asleep until it was time for work.

At Work:

I worked in a large company that made multiple kinds of programs for France, Spain and the United States. I was currently working on an ultimate de-bug program that was simple to install. It was going well enough, and I decided to take a break long enough so my eyes stopped hurting from staring at an endless sea of green programming. I got up from my desk and went to get water when I was stopped by Jean-Paul, my current suitor. "Hey there, Schaeffer." He said, leaning on Victoria's cubicle and making the wall cave in under him.

Rolling my eyes, I stood next to the wreckage, eyeing him in annoyance. "Hello, Jean-Paul." I said as monotonous as I could manage to keep myself from laughing at his sorry sight. Victoria was a rather pensive woman who always seemed to be angry at Jean-Paul. She had yelled 'It be the government! It be the end of the world!' when Jean-Paul had fallen into her cubicle.

Victoria straightened her glasses and looked at Jean-Paul, she began to rant about his stupidity and how he had broken her cubicle and if he were THAT desperate to talk to her, he could just use the door like a normal person. Then she began to compare him to me, saying things like, 'Why can't you be a genius like Aelita?' or 'Aelita is considerate enough to use the god damn door!' or my personal favorite, 'Maybe if you weren't such a womanizer you could see that Aelita has no physical desire for you, not to say the least a mental one!'. Jean-Paul may not like Victoria, but _I _sure as hell do.

I covered my mouth to keep from laughing as Victoria began to strike Jean-Paul with her stapler. I went into the break room and pour myself some water, which almost came out my nose as Jean-Paul ran past the open door, clutching the back of his bleeding head as Victoria continued to strike it repeatedly. I calmed myself before bursting out laughing like a deranged serial killer after a particularly bloody kill. It wasn't that I liked people's pain, but Jean-Paul had been trying to get a date with me for months, to no prevail. I had begun to hate him, and while I told him that frequently, he never seemed to take it seriously.

There was an ominous pulsating noise coming from the coffee machine and when I looked at it, X.A.N.A's symbol blinked on and off slowly on its screen. The coffee machine imploded more than it did explode, but minuscule pieces rushed around the room. I almost freaked out, but I did manage to keep from shrieking and walked slowly back to my cubicle.

I moved the mouse to deactivate the screensaver. I worked for what seemed like seconds before a chat bubble popped up, which I found odd because my work computer wasn't even equipped with chat. I went to exit out of it, and on the 'X', I saw X.A.N.A's symbol there when my mouse rolled over it. There was a tiny 'beep', and I looked at what had popped up.

X_L_R_A_U308: Hello Aelita

I wondered who it was, so I responded.

Aelita: Hello. May I ask to whom I am speaking?

X_L_R_A_U308: Its nice to talk to you again

Aelita: Who are you?

X_L_R_A_U308: Have you spoken with Jeremy lately

Aelita: Jeremy and I haven't spoken since college. I still don't know who you are.

X_L_R_A_U308: Thats unfortunate Im sure he misses you

Aelita: I miss him, too.

X_L_R_A_U308: Have you considered Googling him

Aelita: Who are you?

Aelita: Why do you know so much about my past?

X_L_R_A_U308: Do you not appreciate my charade

Aelita: No, now give it up!

X_L_R_A_U308: We spent so much time together; I thought you would recognize me right away

X_L_R_A_U308: I am X.A.N.A

I jumped up and unplugged my computer. I did not imagine that. I _couldn't _have imagined that. I had seen him around so often, I had assumed I was still freaked out from my nightmare. But I had seen him around; I had really seen him around. He was infiltrating my life, learning my every secret and weakness. He now knew where I lived, where I worked, and that Jeremy and I were no longer in contact. And I had fallen for it; all of it.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two, Aelita Schaffer

In the Boss's Office:

"Miss Schaffer, allow me to get this straight. You want to quit because the coffee machine exploded? We can get a new coffee machine." Mr. Oakley explained to me. I crossed my legs nervously, fearing the worst. "I'm afraid you have to give a two weeks notice, anyway. Is there any other reason that you want to quit so suddenly that you couldn't have thought of this two weeks ago?" Mr. Oakley spun around in his chair like a sugar-hyped child on a merry-go-round.

"Not just because the coffee machine _imploded_," I corrected with a smile. "But I also want to quit because my computer isn't working; and Jean-Paul practically stalking me." I motioned to each invisible supporting reason. Mr. Oakley stared at me for a few minutes, and I was kind of freaked out by the fact. I pursed my lips and looked around the rather boring colored room.

"I can't make you stay, but where do you intend to go? As a boss I need to know these things." He smiled, leaning back and laying his hands across his corpulent stomach. He was a rather old man, my guess in his early sixties, and he was completely bald. His head often caught sunlight and shone like a star, blinding anyone nearby. He was known for wearing brightly colored suits and ties that often did not match. The day I quit he was wearing a bright yellow suit with purple polka dots with a red bow tie with neon green stripes. What with his pale skin and rather full red lips, Mr. Oakley looked like a wanna-be Ronald McDonald.

"I used my cell phone to call up Kadic Junior High School. I'm going to teach there for a while." I grinned. It wasn't the whole story; Sissy had taken the job as principal while her father was in the hospital. She had called me using school records to replace a teacher whom had been teaching science but had recently passed. This, of course, helped me create an actual alibi for my new job, and I could get Sissy to vouch for me if needed.

"I don't see why you want to teach a bunch of kids." Oakley argued, and then waved me off, filling in multiple papers in angst. "Go, teach a bunch of brats their ABCs, and forget about us, live your new god damn life!" He shouted, obviously wanting me to leave. He said nothing more I as nervously eased to the door, scared because I had never seen him so angry. I eased out of the room, and was immediately confronted by Jean-Paul.

He smiled blankly and simply asked, "Hello, miss. Do you know where I can find any bandages? The back of my cranium seems to be leaking warm, red bodily fluid." Jean-Paul stopped smiling when I looked at him strangely. "Are you alright?"

"Jean-Paul, are you okay? You seem a little…," I paused for the right words to phrase it. "…out of it."

"Oh, my, aren't you the silly one! My name is not Jean-Paul, but King Flabagotz of the planet Zachplard. But if you do see that Jean-Paul character, tell him the king says hello." Jean-Paul announced, walking down the long hallway, seeping blood while doing so.

I was in shock at Jean-Paul for what he had told me just then. "Um," was what I could only say at the time, but I did manage to say thereafter, "Yeah, I'll get right on that!"

At Home:

I entered my apartment with a multitude of boxes in hand. I placed them on the nearly undersized dining table to begin packing away my things. I picked up the pictures first, storing them in boxes after remembering the memories. After I had finished packing the pictures away, I paused to look around the now blank room. I said nothing, taking in the sounds of the neighbors arguing next door, and the baby screaming across the hall. I had taken in these noises to fall asleep to, and I wondered how I would fall asleep without them. As soon as this thought entered my head, the blender went off. "Oh, god." I muttered as I approached it in annoyance. It seemed to act like a hyped-up dog, blending air while trying its hardest to attack me. "X.A.N.A, you are now officially pathetic." I yelled, grabbing the blender and tearing out of the wall.

At first I considered simply placing it back on the counter and plugging it back in. I held the blender in my hands, and had I not seen the pathetic thing acting like a guard dog I would have thought it was simply any other blender. I held it tightly with both hands and yelled as I threw it across the room to smack the wall, crashing and breaking. I grabbed my broom and swept it up, throwing the metal parts in the trash and recycling the glass. I calmly went back to the picture box and closed it tightly, closing it tightly with duct tape. I placed the box on the floor and brought the next box into the bedroom and began packing the sheets. After packing them away, the shower magically turned on. The head floated out into the bedroom, and then it begun to spray me with frigid water. Following this uprising was every water and electrical appliance in my apartment. I simply took in the sound of the uprising.

Twitching for several moments, I finally shrieked, "That's _it!_" I stormed out of the bedroom and to the fuse box, turning off every single thing relating to my apartment. "Ha! Try to get me now, X.A.N.A!" I yelled to the empty apartment.

Later:

I lit the candles once the street lights turned on. Opening my laptop, I climbed onto the dining room table to avoid the waterlogged carpet. The silence was welcoming, until X.A.N.A contacted me again.

X_L_R_A_U308: Hello Aelita

This time, I had chat. I couldn't leave the chat, and I didn't have anything better to do, anyway.

Strawberry56: Hello X.A.N.A.

X_L_R_A_U308: We didn't finish our chat today

Strawberry56: I was done talking.

X_L_R_A_U308: Did talking about Jeremy make you uncomfortable

Strawberry56: Did me unplugging my computer make you upset?

X_L_R_A_U308: Touché

Strawberry56: Why are you stalking me?

X_L_R_A_U308: It's not just you, my dear

Strawberry56: Who else, then?

X_L_R_A_U308: Do you know how much research he's done on you

X_L_R_A_U308: Simply trying to find you, to communicate with you again

X_L_R_A_U308: Do you think he's lonely

Strawberry56: Maybe, if I had any idea on whom you are talking about.

X_L_R_A_U308: A hint is he isn't Jean-Paul

Strawberry56: Not much of a hint, if you ask me.

X_L_R_A_U308: Maybe so. Where are you going? The records say you quit your job today

Strawberry56: If I told you that, then this wouldn't be fun for either of us, would it?

X_L_R_A_U308: Give me a hint, I'll bet you I know where it is

Strawberry56: Okay, there is a factory there.

X_L_R_A_U308: What kind of factory

Strawberry56: Why would I tell you that, X.A.N.A? Then you'd know right away, and you would have an unfair advantage.

X_L_R_A_U308: Either way, my dear, you will lose this bet

I turned off my computer, slightly shaken by the conversation. I thought about who X.A.N.A had been talking about. I stared into the fire, my mind mulling over the possibilities. When I finally had the answer, I could barely hold in my angst.

X.A.N.A had been stalking Jeremy, too.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three, Jeremy Belpois

At Work:

The morning was always particularly rough on me, but today was only slightly different than normal. A boss of a world-renowned electronics and robotics company, I experienced hackers and viruses on a schedule of which only I and Òlive knew about. Òlive was my assistant and often was waking me up at my desk, and by 'often' I mean at least five times a week. The reason I had fallen asleep at my desk was simple: something was in my private files, and saving them into their own memory. I had no idea what was doing this, and I had no idea why, but they seemed very interested in my files on Aelita.

I missed Aelita so much I had tried to contact her, and when this failed; either because her answering machine was broken or her boss snapped at me and told me to leave her alone, I had found information on her; such things as her address and phone number, and stored it on a locked file named 'A.S.' Whatever this thing wanted it wanted it badly, and I was not about to let it have any of the information. Thus, I had fallen asleep at my desk fighting the stupid thing.

Òlive, a rather tall thin woman with pale brown hair and olive green eyes, touched me on my shoulder, which caused me to jolt up at my desk. "Huh?! I'm awake!" I yelled, and my glasses fell off my face and onto the keyboard. I picked them up quickly, trying to put them on my face, but something felt wrong. Òlive laughed, taking my glasses off my face and flipped them so they were right-side up.

"Mr. Belpois, what are you doing here? You didn't fall asleep here again, did you?" Òlive asked me, but the laughter that echoed in her eyes proved she already knew the answer. I blinked in exhaustion, and simply turned back to my computer and in angst, typed away thousands of codes to eliminate viruses and hackers, all of them ending in vain.

"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!" I screamed, trying simpler codes and even a series of words, all ending in 'This code is not valid to delete this intruder.' "GET OUT OF MY COMPUTER!" I typed as fast as I could, until a chat screen popped up.

X_L_R_A_U308: Hello Jeremy. Ask your assistant to leave please

Òlive leaned closer, and I asked her to get me a coffee, not telling her which kind of coffee, simply telling her to think before choosing. She opened her mouth to object, probably to point out I hated coffee, but she stomped out in annoyance.

X_L_R_A_U308: Thank you, Jeremy

Jeremy: Are you the one messing with my file?

X_L_R_A_U308: It has been awhile since last time, has it not

Jeremy: I'm not so patient with hackers.

X_L_R_A_U308: She misses you, too, Jeremy

I paused. There was no doubt that this person was hacking my file, but this confrontation presented the hypothesis that they were simultaneously hacking into Aelita's computer as well as mine.

Jeremy: Why do you want the files?

X_L_R_A_U308: I do not want your files; I want you to notice me

Jeremy: You have my attention.

X_L_R_A_U308: Do I, Jeremy, or are you simply looking for an opening so you can shut down my computer

This person could read my thoughts.

Jeremy: I don't take kindly to intruders.

X_L_R_A_U308: I may just help you, Jeremy

Jeremy: Do I need your help? What can you do that I can't?

X_L_R_A_U308: Maybe nothing, but maybe everything

Jeremy: You can't even find the period button!

X_L_R_A_U308: You now judge me by my skills on a keyboard and yet I have no keyboard

X_L_R_A_U308: I speak in a monotone; the computer cannot find any hint of a statement in my voice

Jeremy: I don't believe this is relevant.

X_L_R_A_U308: Kadic Junior High School

Jeremy: What?

X_L_R_A_U308: You will find her there

X_L_R_A_U308: Your assistant is coming back, Jeremy

X_L_R_A_U308 signed off, and X.A.N.A's symbol flashed on my computer screen. Òlive entered my office and handed me my coffee. "For Christ's sake, Mr. Belpois, what is that?"

I twitched slightly before responding. "X.A.N.A."

She laughed. "You mean that super virus you told me about? Mr. Belpois, if I've told you once, I've told you one thousand times- it does not exist! Here, I'll show you." Òlive reached over and grabbed the mouse, dragging it across the screen. "I'll bet you programmed this from a file on your computer, you know, to freak me out." She placed the cursor on the center of the screen and waited. A little tab appeared below the cursor and on it said in small grey letters, [Unknown Picture. Would you like to save this into your album?]

Òlive twitched. Nevertheless, she was as stubborn as a mule and simply said, "Well, it's still your doing. That super virus does. Not. Exist." She warned me with her eyes that I needed to stop, and I sighed.

I thought for a moment, remembering that X.A.N.A had said I would find 'her' at Kadic. "Pack your bags, Òlive, we're going back to Junior High."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four, Jeremy Belpois

On a Plane:

Where I lived and worked was at least a two days' drive straight through to Kadic. This is why it was unanimous that Òlive and I were taking a plane to the airport closest to Kadic. Now that we were high in the air, I had turned on my computer and was working quietly on getting X.A.N.A out of my files. Òlive was yelling at an American passenger in French, which obviously meant she was mad at them, because if she were calm she'd being speaking in the American's native tongue: English. She spoke fluent English and spoke it rather well, while I spoke it very crudely and with a heavy accent. Most annoyingly, X.A.N.A's text box opened up, and he once again decided to talk to me about nothing that seemed important.

X_L_R_A_U308: Hello Jeremy

Jeremy: I don't have time for you!

X_L_R_A_U308: You always used to have time for me

Jeremy: Screw you!

X_L_R_A_U308: Don't be touchy, human! Your end is near and I despise your soul for even existing!

Jeremy: What put you in such a bad mood; you're digital girlfriend break up with you?

X.A.N.A said nothing, and my computer shut itself down. I sighed, and I rebooted it. Instead of the screen turning electric blue, it burst into flames. I poured my soda on it and it quickly died, but sinister black smog rose from the burned laptop and floated to the plane's control room. I nudged Òlive's arm and asked, "Did you see that?"

She looked at me sharply and replied with a quick 'no.' I panicked for a few seconds before calming down. I hoped X.A.N.A had simply decided to leave the plane. My hopes changed when the 'fasten your seatbelt' sign clicked on. Oxygen masks fell from the ceiling and everyone scrambled and screamed. My hopes had changed to 'I hope this is just a drill.'

The plane quickly fell into a nosedive. The last thought I remember rushing through my head was not, 'I hope X.A.N.A is just leaving the plane,' or 'Maybe this is just a drill,' but 'I really hope we live through this. I never told Aelita I loved her.'

I grabbed a pen and my napkin and scribbled 'I love you, Aelita' on it quickly, and you could hear children scream as we impacted the ground. With my last seconds of consciousness, I stuffed the note into my shirt.

I blinked, and my head hurt like hell. I tried to sit up, but it felt like my brain was loose so I lay back down. Òlive Stood nervously at the end of the bed, sighing with relief as I looked at her. "My god, Mr. Belpois. You look like you got in a drunken fight! Bloodshot eyes, burn marks, bruises, broken bones… the nurses say you got the worst of the crash!"

I wanted to laugh, but I couldn't talk. Òlive gave me what was meant to be a sympathetic hug but ended up choking me so hard I coughed up blood onto her pressed jacket. She let me go and brushed the blood that hadn't sunk in off her jacket. "Gross," was all she could manage.

Almost suddenly, a parade burst in, and I recognized a few faces from the crowd. My 'Hooray, Jeremy is alive!' party guest list consisted of Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, and my parents.

Odd laughed at me openly before announcing, "Hey, Jerry, some crash, huh? I'll bet that really made you think! There is more to life than work!" He gripped his sides in laughter as the rest of the room fell flat. I laughed quietly at the awkward silence. The door opened and the loud squeak overpowered my pathetic excuse of a laugh. A tall woman with long black hair walked in, looking around at the group before smiling.

"Hello, Belpois, I'm glad to see you're alive. Ever since I told Stones- I mean, Schaffer, curse her for changing her name- the bad news she's been dying to come over here, and honestly I have no idea why because she told me you two haven't spoken in years." She announced, and her run-on sentence proved to me she was none other than Sissi.

"Sissi? Is that really you? You're so much less…" Yumi started, struggling for words. She looked to Ulrich for help.

"You're so much less of a turkey." Ulrich finished, stating it a-matter-of-factly. My old friends laughed at this statement, mostly because it was blunt and very un-Ulrich-like. "Anyway, you said Princess was here?"

Sissi opened her mouth as if to say something before Aelita burst into the room, out of breath and she dropped a large bag. Sissi smiled and opened the bag, which had a large cake inside what seemed to be a heavy glass casing. "I made her carry the bag." Sissi pointed out as Aelita shot her a glare. It was amusing that Aelita had struck a deal with Princess Clara Clueless, but now that she was grown up, I suppose she's Lady Lorelei Leech. Or the Talkative Turkey, either worked and they, in my opinion, are equally as insulting.

I was weakened by the plane crash and the doctors broke up our little reunion and announced they could each see me one at a time. They each came in and asked me how I was feeling, and how my job was going. They told me a bit about their lives and I learned Yumi and Ulrich are engaged, Sissi is principal of Kadic and Odd has a wife and son. The last two surprised me the most, seeing as how Odd was a player in Junior High. When Òlive came in, I noticed she had no scrapes, bruises or even a limp on her or effecting her. She had nothing much to say but did brief me on my schedule, which once again picked up as soon as I left the hospital.

Lastly came Aelita, who seemed to have taken no time to herself and had begged Sissi to take her to the hospital to see me. "Are you feeling alright, Jeremy?" She asked when she walked in, pulling the chair in the corner as close as she could. She sat abnormally to make it work.

"I'm fine. I just pissed some hacker off and he made the plane crash, that's all." I shrugged painfully, not giving her the entire story. I hated lying to her, but it was better than having her worrying herself to her deathbed. "I haven't seen you since what feels like forever." I smiled goofily, and she smiled back.

"I know. Why did we part again?"

"I don't know. Can you give me details on the crash?"

"It must've been stupid." Aelita shrugged. She smiled, and gave me the details. No one else wanted to tell me them, fearing I might get post-traumatic syndrome or something. "The plane crashed on a playground about an hour's drive from Kadic. Paramedics rushed over as fast as they could, but the crew and half the passengers were dead. You were severely injured and they weren't sure if you were going to pull through. I'm glad you did."

"Me, too." I smiled, and then I remembered the note. "Aelita, when that plane crashed, I was sure I was going to die."

"Well, you lived, and that's what's important."

"Yeah. I remember writing down something on a napkin, and I remember why I wrote it. It was so that if I did die, paramedics could find it and read it on the news, so it would reach you."

"What did it say, Jeremy?"

"I'm not sure. It's probably still in my shirt, could you get it and read it, please?"

Aelita stood and opened the wardrobe. She dug through a bag and found my blue turtleneck and when she held it up, the napkin fluttered to the floor. She picked it up and walked back over, and I could see it was covered in blood around the edges. She smiled and tears rolled down her pale cheeks as she read it. She hugged me softly, and she returned my words, and I fell asleep.

I may have come close to dying, but it had to have been the best day of my life. I thought X.A.N.A had been trying to keep us apart, and yet he brought us closer together.

A/N: Wow. I really liked this chapter. I hope you did, too. This may sound like the end, but it isn't… and now, you must use superhuman powers of inference to guess what comes next! Answer these questions:

Why is X.A.N.A targeting Aelita and Jeremy?

How did Òlive survive the crash untouched?

Why is Sissi principal when she cannot even add two plus two?

Why am I asking _you _all these questions?

Who is Odd's wife, and why would she marry him in the first place?

Tune in next time! See ya!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five, Jeremy Belpois

At the Hospital:

I woke up to the smell of bacon. That might have been weird to say, but it's true. The first thing I remember is bacon. I opened my eyes, and Aelita was standing next to me, smiling like she had some big secret that she couldn't wait to tell me. "Good morning, Jeremy!" She said like a TV game show host, extending the vowels out in 'good.' She laid a breakfast out in front of me, which consisted of bacon, eggs, cereal, toast, milk, and oddly, a piece of cake, which I assumed came from the cake Sissi forced Aelita to carry. She picked up the fork and scooped food onto it, which I then pushed away.

"No thanks, Princess, I'm not hungry." I smiled, looking strangely out the window and people walking in and out of the hospital, some happy, some frightened and others upset.

She crossed her free arm over her chest and pouted, then pointed out, "Your skin color tells me you haven't eaten recently," Aelita pointed out, then stood straight and said, "I will make you eat, if I have to tie you in a chair, Jeremy!"

I laughed at her serious expression, and I took the fork and shoved it in my mouth, then gagged. "Aw, gross!" I coughed it up into the trash can. "This tastes worse than Kadic's food!"

Aelita laughed at my total disgusted expression, and it wasn't until I couldn't taste it anymore that I started laughing, too. We began to talk, and I asked her about why she had gone back to Kadic.

She stopped smiling for a moment, which only lasted for a few seconds, maybe even less than a few seconds. Then her smile returned and she looked away from me. "No reason, really," Aelita started, and then continued with, "I was kind of being followed. It was freaking me out, so I decided to isolate myself here until they decided to lay off."

I could tell Aelita wasn't giving me the whole story. Had she given me the whole story, from my experience, she would have looked at me and her eyes would have sparkled at the thought of the memory. What she had done, on the other hand, was look away and kicked her legs weakly, but the main thing that clued you in on the partial story was her eyes seemed clouded as she thought of it. Aelita pursed her lips, making them a thin line. She seemed to shrug it off, and then asked me the same question.

"I got a tip that you'd be here, and I missed you," I said, smiling. She looked at me strangely, so I added, "I got the tip from… an old friend." I brought my knee up and placed my elbow on it. I looked at the whitewashed wall questionably and said, "A really old friend."

Princess smiled, and we sat in silence for a while, enjoying each other's presence. Interrupting the silence was my cell phone, lying on my bedside table next to me. The caller ID read 'Òlive,' but soon the screen flipped around and turned into a black-on-white X.A.N.A symbol.

I looked at it, and Aelita looked at it, too. I grabbed it, and answered it. "It must feel like I'm playing Cupid, Belpois." X.A.N.A's voice scratched out. The call ended abruptly, and it sent an electrical shock to my ear.

I dropped the phone as it did so, and it seemed to burst into small blue sparks as it slowly, but honestly, died. I picked it up nervously, and announced, "Well, that's one less bill to pay,"

A/N: Hi. This is one of my shorter chapters; the chapter itself is only about 622 words. Yet, I refuse to go under 400 words. I hate stuff like that! Like, the lowest I'll go is 401 words. Lol!

Anyway, I'm here to say I love you guys, you have been so kind to me! I promise that from here on out, I'll put out better chapters in ROX (if I write a sequel, it'll be Fall of X.A.N.A, or FOX!) and MD (if I write a sequel to that, this one isn't funny, but I'd call it My Fate)! Anyway, I'm going to answer one question from last time:

**Why am I asking you all these questions?**

Because I am evil and need to bust brains. Seriously. Just ask my mom; she'll tell you I'm just a little bit evil. *evil laugh* Did I say that out loud? Sorry.

Ha, you'd thought I would answer a question worth your time!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six, Aelita Schaffer

At Kadic:

I wrote the assignment on the board and watched my new students pull out paper and pencils to answer the question. They worked silently for several minutes, and one girl walked up to me. "Ms. Schaffer," She asked, "I'm done," I looked at her paper long enough to see she was Michelle Croix, and when I looked up to talk to her, she was gone, but she also wasn't in her seat. The door hung ajar, and I walked out and saw her running down the hallway. I followed her, as she ran to the tunnel in the school. Michelle knew where she was going, and so did I.

When she got to the factory, she hit the button on the elevator. I used the ladder to get down to the supercomputer. There, in Jeremy's chair, sat a boy I recognized from my earlier class. He saw me, and then his face turned pale. In an American accent, he screamed at Michelle, "You brought Madame Schaffer, Michelle?"

Michelle turned to me, looking horrified. "Oh, Ms. Schaffer! Have you met Meechel? He's from America."

"It's Mitchell!" Mitchell corrected in his thick accent. I smiled at them and sat down at the supercomputer, running a scan on the towers to see which tower X.A.N.A had activated. "Madame Schaffer? What are you doing?" Mitchell asked, looking at my hands scattering across the keyboard.

Once I found the tower, I called Jeremy and said, "Jeremy, X.A.N.A has activated a tower."

Jeremy seemed surprised, as he asked, "Why are you even there?"

"One of my students snuck out of class."

"Right. Well, is the student there at the factory?"

"Yeah, as is one of my other students."

"Can you get them on Lyoko? Just until I can get the others there and virtualized."

"Um… very well, then, Jeremy." We said our goodbyes and I looked at my students, who seemed surprised. I sighed, holding my head in my hands. "Go down to the floor below this one. Then get in the cabins."

My students hurried to the elevator, and I scanned them. I put a time release on the supercomputer, and I entered a cabin.

I soon found myself on Lyoko, which while it seemed sturdy enough, looked run-down and dusty. My students looked dazed and amazed at what was around them. I laughed because they matched, each in blue sailor uniforms. The tower wasn't in sight, but the pulsations were strong. I motioned for the students to follow me, and I ran towards the source of the pulsations.

It felt like we had been running for hours before Jeremy's voice came on. "Aelita? Are you there?"

"Yes, Jeremy, what are the coordinates?"

"The tower should be right in front of you, according to my calculations… hey, are you guys even moving?"

I looked around. The tower was nowhere to be seen, and it did appear like we weren't moving. The scenery didn't look like it had changed. Mitchell and Michelle looked around, noticing the fact that we weren't going anywhere. Everything was deadly calm until Michelle screamed. I turned to look at what she was looking at, and I said, "Jeremy, why didn't you warn us that Krabes were coming?"

"Krabes? They aren't on the monitor."

"Well, here they come!" Michelle screeched, and a microphone appeared in her hands. In Mitchell's hands, there was a record. I powered an Energy Field. I threw it, and in angst, Mitchell threw the record. It turned into a ninja star, and it hit a Krab at the same time as my Energy Field. The Krabes exploded, leaving one Krab left. Michelle held the microphone by the wire, and she spun it. She threw the microphone, which hit the Krab, which disappeared. "That was a bunch of unnecessary drama," Michelle announced.

Behind us, the tower appeared. "Okay, Princess, you're clear to enter the tower."

I smiled at my pet name, like always. I had heard it increasingly often, but it still made me smile when Jeremy said it with love. I ran to enter the tower, and I deactivated it. Jeremy devirtualized us and launched a Return to the Past after removing Michelle's and Mitchell's digital signatures from the supercomputer's memory.

I was surprised to find myself sitting back in my office, just before X.A.N.A contacted me. I sighed, unmotivated to keep working. My boss came up from behind me and told me he needed to talk to me in his office. I followed him into his office and saw Jeremy sitting in Mr. Oakley's chair. Mr. Oakley asked, "This man claims to know you, is that true?"

I smiled and hugged Jeremy. He told me his plan, and I couldn't tell if this plan was real or fake. I offered to help, and he told me he needed my help.

I could tell that X.A.N.A was still awake by the tone of Jeremy's voice.

A/N: One of my weaker chapters, I'd say. How long has it been since I last posted? I'm not even sure. All I've noticed is that the hits on my story go drastically up after I post a new chapter, then gradually go back down. It's pretty funny, actually.

Okay, question time? Which one will I answer? Hmm… I'll answer a reader's question.

**Why did XANA choose the chat name X L R A?**

Actually, X.A.N.A's chat name was X_L_R_A_U308. It is an anagram, which in this case means 'X.A.N.A, Lyoko Ruler and Ultimate,' and then 308. He needed a number to make it seem like he wasn't the only one out there with that username. Trust me, alright, this sounded cooler in my head! But anyway, keep asking questions, or I have to answer my own!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven, Jeremy Belpois

In an Abandoned Building:

"Einstein, explain to me how us working in an inn run by you will help us defeat X.A.N.A for what feels like the fifth time." Ulrich commanded.

"Well, first off, we'll be close together, just like old times." I started. "Next, we're close to the factory. Getting there will be simple, and I can contact you easily. We can get rumors from the guests. You'll be getting paid for what you enjoy doing." My reasons were fool-proof. Aelita and I would manage funds, guests and X.A.N.A, Ulrich and Yumi would do martial arts and other activities, Odd (and his wonderful stand-up comedy) would be dinner entertainment. "Trust me. X.A.N.A won't even see us coming."

The gang looked at each other. They smiled, and Yumi opened her mouth to respond when a knock came to the door. I called for them to enter, and a young woman came in. She had tan skin, and long, curly black hair. Her eyes were brown. In her arms was a small boy, with curly blond hair and a purple and black spot in the center. "Odd, Randall is getting antsy..." She sighed. Odd walked over and kissed the woman, then taking the boy and twirling him in the air. "Are these your old friends?"

"Yeah. Orazia, this is Jeremy, Aelita, Yumi and Ulrich. Guys, this is my wife, Orazia." Odd introduced. "And this little tyke is Randall, isn't that right, little dude?" Odd cooed.

Yumi shook Orazia's hand. "Orazia. What an odd name."

"I agree. It means 'keeper of time.'" Orazia shrugged her thin shoulders. "It suits me. I freak out if someone is even five minutes late."

Aelita shook Orazia's hand as well. The girls separated into their own little group. Ulrich, Odd, Randall and I created our own group. "So, Jerry, you and Princess an item yet?"

"No, Odd. You know me, I'm all work, no play." I joked, but I was serious about Aelita and I. Despite the love confession, she and I hadn't said much of anything to each other.

"Cool! Bachelor party in Einstein's room!" Odd smiled, then turned to Randall. "Say there, little dude, you want daddy to rent you a toddler prostitute?"

"Odd Della Robbia, you will do no such thing, for neither our son or yourself!" Orazia called from across the room.

Ulrich and I laughed. "The wife hears all, huh?" Ulrich laughed. "No worries, Jeremy and I will have fun with those prostitutes you mentioned..."

"Uh, no." Yumi and I said at the same time. We all laughed again. My computer beeped, and I checked it. The others gathered around, excepting Orazia, who had no idea what the hell was going on. I looked at the others and mouthed 'X.A.N.A.'

The team was safe and sound on Lyoko as they searched for the tower. Just as they approached it, the coordinates for the activated tower changed. "You guys, the coordinates changed. Use the tower to go to the Ice Sector." The others entered the tower and dove off the side of the platform. Suddenly, Aelita lost all her life points. I waited for the cabin doors to open, but they didn't. I devirtulized the others, and they had no problems being devirtulized, besides being ticked off that they hadn't defeated X.A.N.A. But Aelita didn't show. "Why isn't Aelita here, Jeremy?" Yumi interogated.

"I don't know! She just lost all her life points, but she didn't devirtulize like you guys..." I typed franticly to try and find her, but her digital signature was completely erased. I typed faster, searching the history files, still unable to find her. I used the search option to try and find her, to no prevail. "No, no, no!" I shouted, standing up, finally bringing my fist down on the keyboard. "I just found her again! I can't lose her again!" We were there for about another hour. I finally put my arms on the supercomputer's screen, and put my head on my arms. I started to cry, which at first sounded like laughter, until I cried harder. The atmosphere grew tense.

Yumi put her hand on my shoulder, and the other two shifted nervously. Ulrich coughed, gaining our attention. "Jeremy, maybe we should go back. You can come back and try to find her tomorrow." He said, shifting again.

I looked between what was left of the gang and the supercomputer, and then I sighed. The others smiled weakly and escorted me to the elevator.

A/N: Oh... poor Aelita. I'll tell you what: she's not dead. Nope, I love that elf too much to let her die! She's, like, my sister.

Actually, Aelita is in the supercomputer's trash bin. X.A.N.A fired at her, and when she was being devirtulized, he put her in the trash bin. The trash bin is like Lyoko's Ice Sector, just with see-through ice and water you can actually swim in without fear of being lost in the Digital Sea. Inhabiting the trash bin is an Aelita-like clone X.A.N.A created. By that I mean her overall features are the same; her nose, hairstyle, clothing... just she has dark skin, blue hair and gray eyes. You'll learn more about her soon.

COMING UP: With Aelita missing, Jeremy spends nothing but time trying to find her. Aelita contacts him through his cell phone (he got a new one). Gamma from my own story _Astral: Revolution! _guest stars in chapter eight!

**Who is Odd's wife, and why would she marry him in the first place?**

Odd's wife is Orazia Montague. She married him because they had been dating for a while and they were both ready for the next step. She's overprotective, and she becomes easily jealous.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight, Aelita Schaeffer

Somewhere:

I was knocked out of the tower brutally. I hit the ground sharply, and I felt like crap. I just lied down for a few moments before sitting up. My head pounded, and nothing seemed to ease the pain. I looked around. An tower-like structure built of ice surrounded me, and it seemed to go up and up forever. Connecting all four sides was a long platform of ice, which didn't go straight, but seemed to zig-zag in strange patterns. In between the platform and the sides was digital water, and I walked to the intersection to be as far away from it as possible. "Jeremy?" I called out, hoping he could only hear me. "Where am I?"

He didn't respond. I sat alone in the silence, remembering the times when I was alone on Lyoko, when Jeremy was in class and couldn't talk to me, and when the other Warriors couldn't be with me. It was the most painful time, when I was by myself in the silence. I heard splashing, and I stood, looking around. "Yumi? Odd? Ulrich?" I asked hopefully. There was no respond, and I looked around. "Jeremy?" I asked, scared. Still no respond was given. "X.A.N.A?"

"Nope!" A girl's voice called from behind me. I jumped, looking at her. She looked just like me, just with darker skin, gray eyes and blue hair. Her outfit was blue where mine was pink. "Silly thing, I'm not any of those. I'm not even sure..." She paused, her gray eyes looking very large and sad. "...I'm not even sure who I am..."

"Why are you here? More importantly, where is here?" I asked.

"'Here' is X.A.N.A's trash bin. I don't know why you're here, but I'm here because I'm a failed experiment." The blue-haired girl sighed. "I worked well at first, but then my color drained, my eyesight went bad until the point where I became totally blind, I became offensively strong and defensibly weak, and he grew tired of me. I failed him." The girl sulked.

"Why did he create you?"

"He wanted to kill Jeremy. I was created to kill Aelita by using her own tactics against her. When I created tactics of my own, and when I became Aelita's opposite, he discarded me."

"Did he give you a name?"

"At first, he called me Aelita. As I grew to fail, he began calling me Disaster, then he discarded me."

I looked at her with sad eyes. "Well, I'm Aelita, so I can't call you that. I refuse to call you Disaster. What do you want to be called?"

The girl shrugged, but her eyes brightened. "Want to go swimming?" I started to say 'no,' but she grabbed me and dove head first into the water. I went in after her, panicking. I rose to the top, freezing and angry, but otherwise, fine. The girl rose to the top, and then splashed me. "See? X.A.N.A hated me, but he loved me, too, and he wanted me to have what he called an 'inferior human existence.'"

I looked at her as she swam around, laughing and smiling. She smiled at me warmly, and she said, "I'm so glad to have someone to talk to. I was so lonely." She grabbed my arm, and we swam together, smiling and laughing, playing games and hanging out.

"How did X.A.N.A create you?"I asked hours later, crawling out onto the side and dangling my toes in the water.

"He took a bit of your digital signature and recreated it in my form. He didn't have two things that you have, so I failed."

"What didn't he have?"

"Waldo and Anthea's DNA. They're your parents, right? The DNA they gave you hold you together. X.A.N.A and your digital signatures is all that allow me to continue existing."

I looked at the girl, who seemed deep in thought. I realized how much she looked like me, despite color issues. "So, I'm kind of like your mom, right?"

She seemed surprised by this question, and she paused, thinking of an appropriate answer. "Yes, I suppose you could look at it that way."

"I get some rights to name you then." I concluded. I thought, and remembered how much she loved the water, and how she was unafraid of it. "How about Aquamarine? I could call you Marine for short." I asked, shrugging with a goofy smile.

"Aquamarine... it's..." She thought for a while. "...kind of pretty. Do I have a last name, too, like you do?"

"Yeah, you could be Schaeffer, like me. Its either that or nothing, Aquamarine."

"I like that, too." Aquamarine sighed. She kicked a bit. I felt bad, taking her in as my daughter when all we shared was a digital signature. But, I smiled, and she reminded me so much of myself. No memory of a family, wanting so much for one, and wanting so badly to be loved. I sighed, thinking of Jeremy.

I closed my eyes and thought of Jeremy's cell phone number. The tower that I had entered from glowed pink. Suddenly, inside my head, I could hear Jeremy's voice. "Hello?" He asked, his voice hoarse.

"Jeremy, can you hear me?" I stood up suddenly, scaring Aquamarine into slipping below the surface of the water.

"Aelita! You're safe!" Jeremy cried out inside my head. Aquamarine burst above the water and pulled herself up.

"Well, sort of." I sighed.

"What do you mean?" He asked, and then added, "Are you being held captive by X.A.N.A?"

"No, well, maybe. I'm not sure, really. All I know is that I'm inside the supercomputer's trash bin."

"What?"

"Why does it surprise you?"

"You're right, it shouldn't. But I'm pretty sure that's the only place I didn't look."

"Yeah, well, that's not the strangest part. X.A.N.A took a strand of my digital signature a long time ago and created a copy of me. When she failed, she wound up here, too. She must've been here for years..."

"What's her name?"

"I named her Aquamarine. She didn't have her own name before."

"Anything else?"  
"Um... yeah, she doesn't have real parents. The only thing holding her together is the fact X.A.N.A infused my digital signature with his own. So I kind of... adopted her as, you know, my daughter."

Jeremy paused, and you could hear him talking to someone else. "I'm sorry, my mother's brother's daughter is here. Now what did you say? Aquamarine is your daughter now?"

"Basically. That's the gist, anyway." I shrugged. There was a struggle on the other side.

"Hello? Is this Aelita? I'm Gamma Rivera, Jeremy's cousin. Now, Shadow and I have done some snooping, and I believe that you were once trapped on Lyoko, a digital world. More recently, you and your friends went to deactivate a tower when you were attacked and sent to a trash bin. Is this true?"

I paused. "Um... yes."

"Cool. Hey, Jeremy, I have an idea..."


End file.
